Libya wants bigger Juve stake

January 10, 2002 Posted: 1301 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- The Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company plans to raise its stake in Italy's most successful soccer club Juventus.

Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Muammar, was quoted as saying the fund's current 5.3 percent stake was just a stepping stone to a bigger stake in Juve, also known as the "Old Lady of Turin." 

"The current stake that we own is just a starting point as over the next few years we are seeking to hold 20 percent of the shares," Gaddafi said in an interview with sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

Lafico, a former partner of Italian carmaker Fiat, bought a 5.3 percent stake, valued at 20 million ($17.9 million), in the newly listed club on Tuesday. Juve is controlled by the Ifi holding company of Itlay's powerful Agnelli family which also controls Fiat, Europe's fifth-biggest car maker.

Lafico is the foreign investment agency of Libya and held a stake in Fiat between 1977 and 1986.

Juve, Italy's most successful and best-supported club, made its debut on the Milan bourse on December 20 after selling more than 44 million shares to institutional investors and the general public raising 164 million.

Juve's stocks had been priced at 3.70 a share and is currently trading down 0.40 cents at 3.58 in Milan.

The club won a record 25 Italian league titles as well as two European Cups in 1985 and 1996. Having finished runner-up the past two season, Juve is desperate for success and has splashed out more than $100 million on players before the start of the season.